I’m letting myself off the hook a little bit for today’s post as a birthday break and because I’ve been running around a lot as we approach deadlines at work and I try to push to take care of some things for my parents before meeting up with them in China next week!

Can you believe December is halfway through? It’s going to be 2018 before we know it, definitely before I realize how quickly the new year is approaching. I have a few posts planned before we ring in the new year. There’s the New Orleans recap/guide that I’m working on and then my usual trio of end-of-year posts.

December is a crazy and frazzled time for a lot of people as the year draws to a close and the holiday season hits its peak, so please take the time to take care of yourself and your needs. Take breaks, breathe deeply, apply hand lotion and lip balm liberally, sleep in soft pajamas, drink comforting beverages.

What are your favorite self-care/treat yo self things right now? I am enjoying going through as many steps of my skincare routine as I can remember, with a mask at the end to seal it all in, and holding and sipping a hot cup of tea with a small pastry or cookie. (Sometimes this turns into 15 cookies.) I also like going for walks, if it’s not painfully cold, or even just opening a window to let in some fresh air and let out the stale air, and if it’s too cold even for that, I’ll just take my tea to the window and look outside. I don’t have a great view from my window (it faces another building in my complex) but sometimes I see people walking their dogs and sometimes I just get lost watching the wind blow in the trees.